Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose.

So, I will admit it, sometimes I listen to country music. I am generally somewhat ashamed of this fact since I can acknowledge often with mainstream country music the lyrics are rather trite and the music not particularly challenging. However, they remind me of Oklahoma and riding around in a car with my wife at a time when silence between us was caused more by being so close we did not need to say anything and less by being so far apart we have no idea what to say. Anyway, once in a while I get homesick and need a fix. It is a weakness in my general attempt to only champion things that are unquestionably good, however a weakness with which I have grown comfortable.

Once in a while though I come across a piece of country music that is without question interesting both lyrically and musically. Recently, I heard Kris Kristofferson perform his song, "Help Me Make It Through The Night," and was so mesmerized I had to download more songs on iTunes. As I ran errands around town today I was struck by the power of the lyrics in detailing the struggle, pain and joy of the human condition, the richness of his voice and the perfect simple but elegant acoustic guitar with blues harmonica in the background. Though I have had friends recommend Kristofferson to me before, I had never been ready to listen until recently. Anyway, I think my favorite song is "Loving Her Was Easier Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again." This like a song called "The Grass Is Blue" by Dolly Parton I would pit against some of the best lyrical songs out there and I hope to find more of these gems as I age and develop more refined and new tastes for forms of expression.

Anyway, as a side note, Kris Kristofferson has at times in life been a Rhodes Scholar, an army helicopter pilot, a janitor, an activist, an artist, an actor and a lover of many and varied fascinating women, including Janis Joplin until her death. Talk about someone with life experiences to draw on when he goes to write or sing. If anything, you must say he has truly lived. And while I like his voice in the downloads I have, the live performance I saw was even more powerful because of the extra crackle in that aging voice. It made me think of my grandfather and how the elegance in the aging of Kristofferson's voice reminds me of my Papa's hands. From the years of hard work and heavy lifting, those hands are leathery, cracked, scarred, hard and often dirty. However, they are also capable of nurturing all sorts of life to grow, handling tiny parts essential for the mechanical function of something, and telling a story with a simple handshake. As he ages they get harder to control, but there is still an elegance there only to be had after 82 years of using them to live life to the fullest.